WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Football (4-3, 2-2) continues Big Ten Conference play at Nebraska (3-5, 1-4) on Saturday, Oct. 30, looking to keep up its successful road trips (2-1) this season. The matchup kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Head coach Jeff Brohm holds a 2-2 record against Nebraska in his tenure leading the Boilermakers, including a 2018 win, 42-28, at Memorial Stadium (Sept. 29, 2018).
PURDUE - NEBRASKA SERIES HISTORY
• Purdue and Nebraska began their regular meetings as part of the Big Ten Conference schedule in 2013, having only met one other time in either program's history back in 1958.
• That 1958 game went to the mighty Boilermakers of Purdue by a score of 28-0 on Sept. 27, 1958, with a season-opening 42,914 crowd in attendance to cheer on head coach Jack Mollenkopf's group. Mollenkopf's program posted a record of 6-1-2 that season.
• Since 2013, Purdue is 3-5 against Nebraska, with two of the matchups under Brohm's watch finishing as one-score games. In Brohm's first matchup against Nebraska at home in Ross-Ade Stadium in 2017, the Cornhuskers held on for a 25-24 result (Oct. 28, 2017). Purdue returned the favor in 2019, edging Nebraska at home by a score of 31-27 (Nov. 2, 2019).
LAST TIME AT NEBRASKA
• Purdue's last visit to Memorial Stadium was controlled by the Boilermakers from start to finish, with Brohm and crew turning a 20-7 halftime lead into the eventual 42-28 road victory.
• Former QB David Blough threw for 328 yards on 25-42-0 passing and one score. Former TE Brycen Hopkins caught five passes for 103 receiving yards and one touchdown.
• The Boilermakers rolled up 188 rushing yards as a team, which included 87 yards and two touchdowns from former RB D.J. Knox, who now serves a graduate assistant with the program.
• Current team members Zander Horvath (2 rec., 28 yds.) and Jackson Anthrop (2 rec., 6 yds.) both made two catches in the win.
BRING THE PAYNE
• For the second time this season, junior TE Payne Durham recorded more than 100 receiving yards in a game with his nine-catch, 112-yard, one-touchdown effort vs. Wisconsin (Oct. 23). The nine grabs are a career high for the Suwanee, Georgia, native.
• Previously, Durham started the 2021 season with a seven-catch, 120-yard outing in the win vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4). Two of Durham's seven receptions were for touchdowns.
PURDUE'S GREEK FREAK
• The Athens, Greece, native's impact was on full display in the game against Wisconsin (Oct. 23), with junior DE George Karlaftis recovering a Badger fumble and returning it 56 yards for a touchdown.
• The play was the third fumble recovery of Karlaftis' career at Purdue, and the first he has taken back to the end zone for a score. Karlaftis finished the game with five stops (1.0 TFL).
• The 2020 season did not go as planned for Karlaftis. An injury and COVID-19 derailed his sophomore campaign despite getting off to a good start (2.0 sacks in the first two games).
• Prior to the season, Karlaftis was named to watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. In 22 career collegiate games, Karlaftis has 24.5 tackles-for-loss and 11.5 sacks.
RING THE BELL
• If you hadn't heard of junior WR David Bell before the Iowa game (Oct. 16), now you have. The junior from Indianapolis (Warren Central HS) torched the No. 2 Hawkeyes for 240 receiving yards (11 catches), the second-highest yardage total in team history, behind only Chris Daniels' 301 vs. Michigan State (October 16, 1999).
• Bell's effort against Iowa sets him as the eighth Boilermaker to have 200-plus receiving yards in a game and the first since Rondale Moore had 220 vs. Vanderbilt (September 7, 2019).
• Also within the Iowa game was a season-long 60-yard snag for Bell, which is the longest play from scrimmage for the Boilermakers in 2021. His longest is an 89-yard touchdown reception vs. Nebraska during the 2020 season (Dec. 5).
• Bell has surpassed 100 receiving yards in 14 of his 24 career games at Purdue, which ties the program record held previously solely by John Standeford.
• Bell started his 2021 campaign with a 134-yard, eight-catch effort vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) and a 121-yard, six-catch, three-touchdown outing at UConn (Sept. 11).
• Bell missed the Illinois (Sept. 25) game due to being in concussion protocol after taking a hit to his upper body in the second half at Notre Dame (Sept. 18).
• The Boilermaker star ranks sixth nationally in receiving yards per game (118.7), and first in the Big Ten Conference.
• For his career, Bell is averaging 7.3 catches per game and 101.7 yards per game. His 118.7 receiving yards per game is No. 6 in the NCAA FBS for active careers. His 7.3 receptions per game is currently the 10th-most for an active NCAA career.
• The three-TD game for Bell at UConn matched his career-high he set against Iowa last season (Oct. 24, 2020). He is just the second Purdue WR in school history with multiple three-TD reception games, joining Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04).
JAYLAN'S JURISDICTION
• Since the 2000 season, just five Boilermakers have accumulated 15 or more tackles in a game. With his effort against Wisconsin (Oct. 23), senior LB Jaylan Alexander became the latest to accomplish the feat (11 solo, 4 assisted, 1.0 TFL).
• In recent memory, former LBs Ben Holt and Markus Bailey make the list provided by Sports-Reference.com. Holt recorded 17 tackles in 2019 against TCU (Sept. 14, 2019), while Bailey posted 15 stops in 2018 in the win against No. 2 Ohio State (Oct. 20, 2018).
• Alexander is tied for ninth in the Big Ten Conference, currently, with his 52 total tackles (7.4 per game).
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
• The Boilermakers have gotten tremendously stingy on defense, ranking ninth nationally in scoring defense (16.3) through seven games this season. In the neighborhood with Purdue includes: Georgia (6.6), Michigan (14.3), Clemson (14.6), Iowa (14.6) Cincinnati (14.6), Penn State (14.7), San Diego State (15.7) and Texas A&M (16.1).
• The Boilermaker defense had four interceptions at Iowa (Oct. 16), the most since 2018, a four-INT game against Boston College (Sept. 22, 2018), and the four takeaways is the team's most since it had four at Wisconsin (Nov. 23, 2019).
• Purdue's defense is led by a new array of assistant coaches selected to join the Boilermaker staff by head coach Jeff Brohm during the offseason leading up to the 2021 season. Three new co-defensive coordinators were hired, Brad Lambert, previously at Marshall, and Ron English, previously at Florida. In his second stint on Purdue's staff, Mark Hagen was selected by Brohm and elevated to co-defensive coordinator.
• Lambert and English coach the linebacker and secondary groups, respectively, while Hagen returned to Purdue in 2021 to lead the defensive line. Brohm also added cornerbacks coach James Adams to his staff from Navy.
GOODBYE, NUMBER TWO
• With the win against No. 2 Iowa (Oct. 16), Purdue improved to 6-10 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, and the Boilermakers have won two in a row, including the 49-20 win against second-ranked Ohio State on October 20, 2018
• The Boilermakers have 16 wins over top-five opponents when they are unranked, the most in the country.
• The Iowa win is Purdue's first against a top-2 foe on the road since a 31-20 victory at Notre Dame on September 28, 1974.
BIG CROWD
• The Wisconsin game (Oct. 23) at Ross-Ade Stadium was a sellout, with a capacity crowd of 61,320. It was the largest attendance at Ross-Ade since October 1, 2011, when 61,555 saw Purdue take on Notre Dame.
PURDUE - NEBRASKA SERIES HISTORY
• Purdue and Nebraska began their regular meetings as part of the Big Ten Conference schedule in 2013, having only met one other time in either program's history back in 1958.
• That 1958 game went to the mighty Boilermakers of Purdue by a score of 28-0 on Sept. 27, 1958, with a season-opening 42,914 crowd in attendance to cheer on head coach Jack Mollenkopf's group. Mollenkopf's program posted a record of 6-1-2 that season.
• Since 2013, Purdue is 3-5 against Nebraska, with two of the matchups under Brohm's watch finishing as one-score games. In Brohm's first matchup against Nebraska at home in Ross-Ade Stadium in 2017, the Cornhuskers held on for a 25-24 result (Oct. 28, 2017). Purdue returned the favor in 2019, edging Nebraska at home by a score of 31-27 (Nov. 2, 2019).
LAST TIME AT NEBRASKA
• Purdue's last visit to Memorial Stadium was controlled by the Boilermakers from start to finish, with Brohm and crew turning a 20-7 halftime lead into the eventual 42-28 road victory.
• Former QB David Blough threw for 328 yards on 25-42-0 passing and one score. Former TE Brycen Hopkins caught five passes for 103 receiving yards and one touchdown.
• The Boilermakers rolled up 188 rushing yards as a team, which included 87 yards and two touchdowns from former RB D.J. Knox, who now serves a graduate assistant with the program.
• Current team members Zander Horvath (2 rec., 28 yds.) and Jackson Anthrop (2 rec., 6 yds.) both made two catches in the win.
BRING THE PAYNE
• For the second time this season, junior TE Payne Durham recorded more than 100 receiving yards in a game with his nine-catch, 112-yard, one-touchdown effort vs. Wisconsin (Oct. 23). The nine grabs are a career high for the Suwanee, Georgia, native.
• Previously, Durham started the 2021 season with a seven-catch, 120-yard outing in the win vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4). Two of Durham's seven receptions were for touchdowns.
PURDUE'S GREEK FREAK
• The Athens, Greece, native's impact was on full display in the game against Wisconsin (Oct. 23), with junior DE George Karlaftis recovering a Badger fumble and returning it 56 yards for a touchdown.
• The play was the third fumble recovery of Karlaftis' career at Purdue, and the first he has taken back to the end zone for a score. Karlaftis finished the game with five stops (1.0 TFL).
• The 2020 season did not go as planned for Karlaftis. An injury and COVID-19 derailed his sophomore campaign despite getting off to a good start (2.0 sacks in the first two games).
• Prior to the season, Karlaftis was named to watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. In 22 career collegiate games, Karlaftis has 24.5 tackles-for-loss and 11.5 sacks.
RING THE BELL
• If you hadn't heard of junior WR David Bell before the Iowa game (Oct. 16), now you have. The junior from Indianapolis (Warren Central HS) torched the No. 2 Hawkeyes for 240 receiving yards (11 catches), the second-highest yardage total in team history, behind only Chris Daniels' 301 vs. Michigan State (October 16, 1999).
• Bell's effort against Iowa sets him as the eighth Boilermaker to have 200-plus receiving yards in a game and the first since Rondale Moore had 220 vs. Vanderbilt (September 7, 2019).
• Also within the Iowa game was a season-long 60-yard snag for Bell, which is the longest play from scrimmage for the Boilermakers in 2021. His longest is an 89-yard touchdown reception vs. Nebraska during the 2020 season (Dec. 5).
• Bell has surpassed 100 receiving yards in 14 of his 24 career games at Purdue, which ties the program record held previously solely by John Standeford.
• Bell started his 2021 campaign with a 134-yard, eight-catch effort vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) and a 121-yard, six-catch, three-touchdown outing at UConn (Sept. 11).
• Bell missed the Illinois (Sept. 25) game due to being in concussion protocol after taking a hit to his upper body in the second half at Notre Dame (Sept. 18).
• The Boilermaker star ranks sixth nationally in receiving yards per game (118.7), and first in the Big Ten Conference.
• For his career, Bell is averaging 7.3 catches per game and 101.7 yards per game. His 118.7 receiving yards per game is No. 6 in the NCAA FBS for active careers. His 7.3 receptions per game is currently the 10th-most for an active NCAA career.
• The three-TD game for Bell at UConn matched his career-high he set against Iowa last season (Oct. 24, 2020). He is just the second Purdue WR in school history with multiple three-TD reception games, joining Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04).
JAYLAN'S JURISDICTION
• Since the 2000 season, just five Boilermakers have accumulated 15 or more tackles in a game. With his effort against Wisconsin (Oct. 23), senior LB Jaylan Alexander became the latest to accomplish the feat (11 solo, 4 assisted, 1.0 TFL).
• In recent memory, former LBs Ben Holt and Markus Bailey make the list provided by Sports-Reference.com. Holt recorded 17 tackles in 2019 against TCU (Sept. 14, 2019), while Bailey posted 15 stops in 2018 in the win against No. 2 Ohio State (Oct. 20, 2018).
• Alexander is tied for ninth in the Big Ten Conference, currently, with his 52 total tackles (7.4 per game).
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
• The Boilermakers have gotten tremendously stingy on defense, ranking ninth nationally in scoring defense (16.3) through seven games this season. In the neighborhood with Purdue includes: Georgia (6.6), Michigan (14.3), Clemson (14.6), Iowa (14.6) Cincinnati (14.6), Penn State (14.7), San Diego State (15.7) and Texas A&M (16.1).
• The Boilermaker defense had four interceptions at Iowa (Oct. 16), the most since 2018, a four-INT game against Boston College (Sept. 22, 2018), and the four takeaways is the team's most since it had four at Wisconsin (Nov. 23, 2019).
• Purdue's defense is led by a new array of assistant coaches selected to join the Boilermaker staff by head coach Jeff Brohm during the offseason leading up to the 2021 season. Three new co-defensive coordinators were hired, Brad Lambert, previously at Marshall, and Ron English, previously at Florida. In his second stint on Purdue's staff, Mark Hagen was selected by Brohm and elevated to co-defensive coordinator.
• Lambert and English coach the linebacker and secondary groups, respectively, while Hagen returned to Purdue in 2021 to lead the defensive line. Brohm also added cornerbacks coach James Adams to his staff from Navy.
GOODBYE, NUMBER TWO
• With the win against No. 2 Iowa (Oct. 16), Purdue improved to 6-10 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, and the Boilermakers have won two in a row, including the 49-20 win against second-ranked Ohio State on October 20, 2018
• The Boilermakers have 16 wins over top-five opponents when they are unranked, the most in the country.
• The Iowa win is Purdue's first against a top-2 foe on the road since a 31-20 victory at Notre Dame on September 28, 1974.
BIG CROWD
• The Wisconsin game (Oct. 23) at Ross-Ade Stadium was a sellout, with a capacity crowd of 61,320. It was the largest attendance at Ross-Ade since October 1, 2011, when 61,555 saw Purdue take on Notre Dame.